MARSHALL Amps Founder Dies

April 5, 2012

Jim Marshall, known as "The Father of Loud" for inventing the Marshall amplifier, has died at the age of 88.

Marshall, who originally owned a music shop in London, founded Marshall Amplification 50 years ago.

Fomer GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Slash tweeted: "The news of Jim Marshall passing is deeply saddening. R & R will never be the same w/out him. But, his amps will live on FOREVER!"

American blues-rock guitarist Joe Bonamassa also showed his appreciation on Twitter: "A very sad day for the Marshall family. My thoughts and prayers go out to Paul and his family. Rest in Peace Jim Marshall OBE."

MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson wrote: "Rest in peace to Marshall Amps founder Jim Marshall. Had the pleasure to meet him in 2001 at the factory in Milton Keynes, England. A gentle soul who carved out the loudest sound in rock 'n' roll."

MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx: "R.I.P. Jim Marshall. You were responsible for some of the greatest audio moments in music's history and 50% of all our hearing loss."

SKINDRED guitarist Mikey Demus offered his respects, tweeting: "RIP Jim Marshall, The Father Of Loud. Without his contribution to music, god knows what we'd all be listening to."

The following message has been posted on Marshall Amplification's web site:

"Jim Marshall. While mourning the Guv'nor though, we also salute a legendary man who led a full and truly remarkable life.

"Jim's ascent into the history books as ‘the Father of Loud' and the man responsible for 'the Sound of Rock' is a true rags-to-riches tale. Cruelly robbed of his youth by tubercular bones, Jim rose to become one of the four forefathers responsible for creating the tools that allowed rock guitar as we know and love it today to be born. The groundbreaking quartet also included the late, great trio of Leo Fender, Les Paul and Seth Lover — together with Jim, they truly are the cornerstones of all things rock.

"In addition to the creation of the amps chosen by countless guitar heroes and game changing bands, Jim was also an incredibly humble and generous man who, over the past several decades, has quietly donated many millions of pounds to worthy causes.

"While the entire Marshall Amplification family mourns Jim's passing and will miss him tremendously, we all feel richer for having known him and are happy in the knowledge that he is now in a much better place which has just got a whole lot louder!

"Rest in peace and thank you, Jim.

"Your memory; the music and joy your amps have brought to countless millions for the past five decades; and that world-famous, omnipresent script logo that proudly bears your name will always live on.

"An online condolences site will be available shortly which we welcome you to leave your messages on. An announcement will be made when this will be accessible."

Find more on

Prev More News Next

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).